Cats May Help Solve Crimes, Through DNA

[TootsieFootsie]

Cats May Be Harboring Crime Scene DNA, Scientists Say

Ever feel like your cat might know a little more than it lets on? Well, you may be onto something.

www.sciencealert.com

Ever feel like your cat might know a little more than it lets on? Well, you may be onto something. New research suggests that our little feline friends could be surprising sources of evidence when a crime has been committed.

Specifically, a cat's fur can retain enough DNA shed by a person who has been in their vicinity to serve as evidence of a fleeting meeting between the two. This could mean that, even though cats can't be questioned, they might still be able to help identify perpetrators of crime.

The new study is the first to examine how household pets can contribute to DNA transfer, so there's a lot more work to be done. But it represents a positive step towards the future collection of more comprehensive forensic evidence – which, obviously, would be really helpful police investigations.

 

[LadyL]

this actually kinda scares me - perps might take to stealing pets and disposing of them with any other evidence of their crimes

 

[TootsieFootsie]

this actually kinda scares me - perps might take to stealing pets and disposing of them with any other evidence of their crimes

I know.

I was just thinking that